This is the End, My Friend
by hxchick
Summary: How does JJ leave the team and how do her teammates react? Written in response to the challenge at the Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

This is the End, My Friend-Chapter 1

**~I wrote this in response to the "JJ's Departure" challenge on the Chit Chat on the Author's Corner forum. **

**~I plan to dedicate a chapter to each team member's reaction to JJ's departure...they won't all be this long.**

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_**JJ**_

'I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning,' JJ thought as she stared at the crazed gunman. 'I had my hand on the phone to call in sick, but I just _had_ to be a dedicated agent.' When she woke up this morning, JJ had seen the sun streaming though the blinds and had given serious consideration to calling in sick so she could spend the gorgeous day outside with her son Henry. It felt like it was rare where she could spend an entire day with the toddler, just doing fun things, and she wanted to take advantage of it. She had been in the middle of dialing Hotch's number when her conscience got the best of her and she had put the phone down and had gotten dressed for work. She knew that since Henry's father Will was out of the picture, she would need all of her sick days for when her son got sick.

Once she arrived at the BAU, her work day had started normally enough; she had gotten her morning coffee, greeted Hotch and Dave, who was in early for some reason, and then she had beelined it to her office so she could peruse the hundreds of files that were ever-present on her desk. She was surprised when Hotch knocked on her door an hour later with a case since most of the cases came through her and then she brought them to Hotch, not the other way around. Her surprise must have shown on her face because Hotch explained that a local DC detective, the same one who had worked the case when Garcia had been shot, had requested their help on a local pedophile case. It hadn't been an official request, more of a calling in of a favor. Since the detective had given the team a _lot_ of leeway while they were trying to catch Penelope's shooter, Hotch had agreed to the favor with little hesitation.

There was an unsub going around to elementary schools in the DC area and they were luring kids into secluded parts of the schools so they could molest them. Since the unsub knew the layouts of the schools, the detectives and BAU team concluded that it had to be an employee. Between the various janitors, counselors, specialty teachers and substitute teachers, there was a long list of possible suspects and the detective needed their help in questioning them. The profilers were the perfect choice for the job because they could study the behavior of the suspect during the light questioning and they would be able to tell if the suspect was lying or holding anything back. If they were, then they would bring them in for further questioning and if they weren't, they could cross that person off of the list. Since she was technically not a profiler, the team had given JJ some of the suspects that were long-shots for being the unsub. It was one of those unsubs that was currently holding a gun on her and a room full of eight-year olds.

She had gone to Tubman Elementary School to question a substitute teacher who had been at all of the locations where the molestations had occurred. As a sub, it wasn't surprising that he had been at each of the schools, but he still needed to be questioned.

At first the interrogation had gone well; the kids had been in gym class, so they had the classroom to themselves and the guy had answered all of her questions without breaking a sweat, and JJ thought they would be able to cross him off of the suspect list. Then the kids returned from class and were chatting amongst themselves as JJ asked her last question, which wasn't an insightful one; she was just verifying his address so if they had any more questions for him, the team could contact him outside of the school building. Suddenly his expression changed from a friendly one to one of fury. He reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a gun and screamed, "You'll never take me alive!"

JJ, shocked at seeing the gun, pulled her own, but in the split second that took, the unsub, Craig Sweeney, grabbed a one of the second grade students and put his gun against her temple.

"Drop the gun, bitch!" He screamed at JJ.

JJ thought for only a second before she dropped the gun and kicked it to the door. Craig released the girl and shoved her towards the student's desks. She fell, hit her knee on the floor and began to cry, which set Craig off even more.

"Shut that little shit up!" He screamed. JJ slowly went to the girl and comforted her like she would have Henry. It only took a minute before the girl calmed down and joined her friends against the back wall, where most of the children had cowered. Miraculously, the kids were being fairly quiet; they were huddled in the back of the room and some were crying, but none of them were being loud about it. JJ went to where the kids were so she could check that they were all okay and they were, but most of them were frightened. JJ reassured them the best that she could and then walked back towards Craig.

"Why don't you let the kids go, Craig?" She suggested. "We can work this out like adults; no sense in taking a bunch of kids hostage"

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, bitch?" He said, re-cocking his gun and pointing it at her head. Knowing that the man needed time to cool off, JJ joined the children at the back of the room and comforted them. She also checked her cell phone to see if the last call she had placed had connected. With a sigh of relief she saw that that it had, but she was dismayed to see that the phone was now disconnected. While she had been at the back of the room with the kids, JJ had dialed Hotch's cell phone number and then put the connected phone in her pocket. She prayed that he had heard what was going on around her.

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At a nearby school, Hotch felt his cell phone ring and recognized JJ's ringtone. Knowing the media liaison wouldn't call him unless it was important, Hotch excused himself to answer it.

"JJ, I'm a little busy right-" He stopped talking when he heard her voice.

"Why don't you let the kids go, Craig?" He heard her say. "We can work this out like adults; no sense in taking a bunch of kids hostage." Hotch immediately knew that Craig Sweeney was their unsub, and he quietly praised JJ's action of keeping an open line to him. His blood chilled when he heard a gun cock and Sweeney say, "Why don't you shut the fuck up, bitch?" He closed his eyes and waited to hear a gunshot, but it never came. After thirty seconds, he disconnected the call. He hated to do it, but he needed to coordinate with the local LEO's and his team since he knew there was a hostage situation going down at Tubman Elementary School.

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Ten minutes later, JJ heard the unmistakable sound of sirens approaching the school. She sent a silent thank you to the fates above…Hotch must have gotten her phone call. She listened as what sounded like many cars and trucks pulled up in front of the school and she knew that Hotch must have called in the cavalry.

Outside of the school, Hotch was joined by Dave and Reid. Emily and Derek were at schools that were far out in the city, so they would be joining them as soon as they could. Hotch hoped that by the time his remaining profilers arrived, the situation would be over.

"What the fuck happened, Hotch?" Dave asked. "This guy was clean as a whistle, no priors, no warning flags, nothing! Hell, he doesn't even have a parking ticket on his record!"

"I _know_ that Dave, that's why I sent JJ to question him; I thought he would be one of the safer ones!"

"What's the plan?"

"The plan? The guy is holding a room full of eight year olds plus a federal agent hostage. The plan is to take any shot we can get at him. I'll also try to talk him out of the room, but I gotta tell you, with a guy that unstable, my guess is that we'll have to take him out with the snipers," Hotch said, trying to push his feelings of guilt out of the way so he could get his job done.

Reid, who was standing near Hotch, started to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach; his scientific brain didn't believe in ESP or hunches, but there was something telling him that this was going to end badly.

Back in the classroom, Craig also heard the sirens and approached JJ at the back of the room. "What the fuck did you do?" He screamed.

"I didn't do anything Craig," she said calmly. "One of the other teachers must have heard the commotion in the room and called the police. Why don't you just give yourself up? There's no need to keep threatening the children, and if you don't come out soon, they _will _shoot you."

He grinned in a way that made JJ's blood run even colder, then he reached into another jacket pocket and pulled out a grenade. "If they take me down, we _all_ go down!" He said, pulling the pin. The only thing keeping the grenade from exploding was the pressure of his index finger on the trigger.

JJ thought back to her academy training on bombs and weaponry. She knew that a hand grenade produced an explosion, but not a large one. It was the shrapnel it was loaded with that killed most of the people when it went off. She knew the situation was going from bad to worse and she considered calling Hotch again to let him know about the new development, but before she could, she heard a window shatter and she saw a bullet hole appear in the front of Craig Sweeney's forehead. He looked stunned for a minute and then he fell to the ground, the grenade rolling out of his hand and towards JJ and the children.

JJ thought for a split second; she knew she didn't have time to throw or kick the grenade out of the way, so she quickly made a decision. Screaming "Get back!" to the children, JJ threw herself on the live grenade. Again, from her training at the academy, she knew that her body would take most of the shrapnel and the children would be safe.

In the two seconds between when she threw herself on the bomb and when it went off, JJ thought about her son. She remembered his soft smile, the way he looked when he was covered in spaghetti, the way his eyes lit up when he pet the puppy across the street for the first time and the way she had felt when he heard him say 'mama' for the first time. She silently apologized to him for all of the things she would miss in his life. She heard an explosion, and then Jennifer Jareau knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

This is the End, My Friend-Chapter 2

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Will sat on the plane and wondered what in the hell he was going to do. He couldn't believe JJ was dead; part of him expected her to be at the airport to greet him like she would when they had been long distance dating. That had been the best part of coming to DC; her sunny smiling face never failed to put him in a good mood, even after enduring a flight from hell. Tears pricked his eyes when he realized he would never see that smile again.

He and JJ had broken up over three months ago. It was an amicable break up and they had worked hard to remain friends for the sake of their son. The hell of it was they both still loved each other when they broke up, but their lives were just too different for them to stay together. He had transferred to the DC Metro police department so JJ could keep her job with the FBI and the transfer had been hard on him. It wasn't that he didn't like DC, he liked it fine, but it wasn't home. He had lived in New Orleans his entire life and he loved the culture and the people. He liked being able to find wide open spaces where he could just think about things and he couldn't do that in DC. The night he told JJ of his unhappiness, he knew it was over. He didn't insist she quit her job and move to New Orleans with him, and she didn't offer. Instead, they talked all night about their differences, and by morning it was evident that their relationship wasn't going to work. He put in for a transfer back to New Orleans that day and moved out the following weekend. He saw his son as much as he could, and JJ had planned to bring him to New Orleans the following weekend, but obviously that was not going to happen.

His son. Fuck. How was he going to take care of Henry? While he loved his son more than anything on earth, he really didn't know much about being a father. When he and JJ lived together, she had been the primary parent and he had just kind of hovered in the background. Sure, he knew not to leave Henry alone in the bathtub, but he didn't know the first thing about being a parent. He knew his mother and sisters would help him with Henry, but he still felt woefully unprepared for the responsibility that would be his in less than two hours.

Feeling panicked, he took a long draw from his glass of whiskey to calm his nerves. Thanks to David Rossi, he was flying first class from New Orleans to Washington DC and he was staying at a first rate hotel. He was grateful to the man for getting him a hotel room instead of having him stay at JJ's apartment…he didn't think he could face the memories there. He knew he would eventually have to go to the apartment in order to get Henry's things, but he wanted to put that off for as long as possible. He also wanted to get some pictures of JJ and a couple of her things so his son would have tangible proof of the woman who gave birth to him. His son was only ten months old, so Will knew that he wouldn't remember JJ and that thought saddened him; he wanted his son to know the woman who gave him life, who carried him for nine months, who loved him more than life itself.

Finishing the whiskey, Will made a silent promise to himself, to his son and to his former fiancé that Henry would know his mother, even if she was dead. Will would make sure he knew about his mother's sunny smile, he would tell him how she was moved to tears the first time she heard his heartbeat through the Doppler stethoscope, he would hear the story of his first word, how JJ called him nearly in hysterics when she heard him say 'mama' for the first time. Most importantly, he would make sure his son knew that his mother died a hero, that she gave her life so that twenty children could live.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

This is the End, My Friend-Chapter 3

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**_Hotch_**

Aaron Hotchner couldn't get his fingers to work properly. All he wanted to do was tie his goddamn necktie into a Half-Windsor knot, and he just couldn't get his fingers to cooperate with his brain. It should be automatic for Christ's sake; he had been tying this knot every day for the past ten years! He disgustedly set the tie down next to him, took a deep breath and tried to calm the hell down.

He couldn't believe JJ was dead. His biggest fear had come true: they had left as a team of six and had come back as a team of five. He always knew that deep down, JJ was a hero and if she had to die, it didn't surprise him that she went out saving a room full of children…he expected nothing less from her. It just devastated him that she had to die at all, the situation shouldn't have ended the way it had, he should have goddamn known that Sweeney was the unsub, that he was unstable, and he should have realized that the man had a secondary device. He should have stopped the SWAT team from taking the kill shot.

If only he could go back and do things differently, then maybe he would be able to see her smiling face again, maybe he would be able to see the sparkle in her eye when she told him stories about Henry, maybe she would finally tell him who she was dating, since he could tell that she was seeing someone. God, all of the 'maybe's' were killing him. Maybe if he had been the one to interrogate Sweeney it wouldn't have gone as far as it did, maybe he would have been able to talk Sweeney down from the ledge…maybe he would be the one in the casket right now instead of his friend and confidante and maybe that would be better.

Making a sound between a sigh and a sob, Hotch once again picked up his necktie and attempted to make the knot look presentable. As he did, he wondered how many women he would lose on his watch. He'd already lost Haley to the brutality of the job, and now JJ was lost in that same haze of violence…that same haze that separates the psychopaths from the rest of society. While she hadn't died, he had also lost Elle. He lost her because he wasn't strong…he wasn't strong enough to help her through the aftermath of her shooting.

How many more women was God going to take from him? Jessica? Would he really take the one support structure away from him and Jack? And what about Prentiss? She took stupid chances every day; what if one of these days one of her reckless actions finally caught up with her and she died?

Hell, at this point, he figured Garcia was probably fair game too, although she'd already been shot and he hadn't been able to protect her, so he wasn't sure if he should put Garcia in the 'win' column or the 'loss column.' All he knew was that he was horrible at protecting the women in his life.

Finally getting the tie into an acceptable loss, Hotch grabbed his keys and his briefcase and drove towards Quantico. The team was going to meet there and then take two SUV's to drive to the funeral. On the way, Hotch wiped tears from his eyes as he thought about all of the things he would miss about JJ. He knew he would sorely miss the way she could brighten everyone's day with her smile…it may not have been as glaringly fluorescent as Garcia's, but it still did the trick. He would miss the way in which JJ knew exactly what to say to everyone, whether she had known them for five years or had just met them that day.

He would miss having a fellow single parent on the team to lean on and commiserate with. JJ had helped him with parenting issues many times since Haley died and, in return, he had helped her do some light remodeling of her condo. She had wanted to "paint Will" out of her condo and she needed help reaching some of the high places. They'd had fun doing it and he had opened up to her about some of the things he had been feeling since Haley died. He would miss talking to her. Sure, he had Dave, but it a woman's perspective was different, it was…wiser.

As he pulled into the parking garage at headquarters, it dawned on him that JJ had touched just about every aspect of his life and there was nothing about her that he wouldn't miss.

As he pulled into a parking space, he wiped the final tear off of his face, took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He got out of the car and walked to the elevator. He knew his team would need him to be strong today, and he would be, even if he was breaking on the inside.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

This is the End, My Friend-Chapter 4

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_**Penelope**_

'What am I going to do without her?' Garcia thought as she applied a bright red lipstick to her quivering lips. She was trying to get ready for JJ's funeral, but she kept getting sidetracked by random thoughts and memories.

As she straightened her red dress, she wondered how she was going to make it without her gal pal, her partner in crime…her best friend. JJ had been like a sister to her; she listened to her problems, she gave her great advice, she knew when she needed chocolate and she knew when she needed a hug. After Henry was born, Penelope had been afraid that JJ would forget about her, that she wouldn't need her as much, but if anything they spent more time together, especially since she was Henry's godmother.

She liked to think that she helped JJ out as much as she had helped her out. Garcia was the one who had run background checks on Henry's babysitters, she watched the baby when JJ was out of town and she was the one who had comforted JJ after she and Will had broken up. She always tried to be there for her friend when the team came off of difficult cases, because she knew the horror and gore affected her friend more than it did the profilers. That caused another question to pop into her head, what was she going to do without JJ at work? She was the only other non-profiler on the team and she was the one who helped her knock the profilers down a peg when they got too big for their britches. She was the only one who didn't have an ego the size of Canada. Most importantly, JJ got her, she understood her in a way that no one else did.

JJ understood her quirkiness. She was sure she would understand why she was not wearing black to her funeral. To her, black symbolized sadness and she refused to be sad for her friend. She had lived a full and wonderful life in her thirty-plus years on this planet. She had touched many lives, helped many people and Penelope would be damned if she cried over that. Later on, she would cry over missing her friend, of not having her there to talk to or have fun with, but she wouldn't cry over life. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done, she thought as a tear zigzagged its way down her cheek. She was going to miss JJ so much!

She would miss their late night movie marathons, with their unlimited junk food buffet. She would miss their long chats on the phone when she was out of town, chats in which they would talk about _anything_ other than the current case. She would miss going to Eastern Market with her and Henry on Saturdays just to people watch and she would miss the way that JJ managed to brighten up the office, even through all of the horrors that they saw on a daily basis.

She wiped her face, reapplied her mascara and thought about the way in which JJ had died. It didn't surprise her that JJ died a hero; she knew the media liaison had a special place in her heart for children, one that had grown after she became a mother herself. She knew without being there, without reading the report, that JJ never hesitated before throwing herself on that grenade, it was just the way she was. She cared so much about others, that she often disregarded her own safety, and it was that caring which had ultimately killed her.

Garcia stood up and squared her shoulders, she would be strong for her friend today, she _had _to be strong for her friend today, and she owed that much to her memory. She slipped on her red high heeled shoes, grabbed her red rhinestone purse and then picked up her keys. There would be time for crying later, when she was alone and missing her friend, but right now there were two members of her team who needed her…two members who loved JJ almost as much as she did, and she wanted to check on them before the funeral. The team needed someone strong, yet loving right now and in the past, that role would have fallen to JJ, but since it was her death that was devastating everyone, Garcia knew she would have to be the strong one.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

This is the End, My Friend-Chapter 5

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_**Derek**_

JJ…she was dead…she was like a younger sister to him, and she was dead.

Derek Morgan couldn't get that thought out of his head as he stood in his bedroom, fumbling with his tie. He never could tie the damn things properly, that's why he always wore t-shirts and sweaters at work. It was JJ who had convinced him to change his look during his temporary stint as Unit Chief. He remembered the events like it was yesterday.

He had been in the middle of the unending paperwork that seemed to be a permanent fixture on his desk in his new office when he heard the knock on his door. "Come in," he said tensely.

JJ entered, and for once she hadn't been carrying a stack of files. "Got a minute?" She asked her new Unit Chief.

"Not really," he sighed, but motioned for her to sit. "What can I do for you JJ?"

"Can I be blunt with you? Can I talk to you as a friend and not as my Unit Chief?" She asked, a bit timidly.

"Of course," he said, sitting back in his chair. He was a bit fearful to hear what was going to come out of her mouth. If it was another suggestion on how to make his role as the new boss his own, he was going to seriously lose it. He had to put up with that shit all day from Rossi, and he was barely able to stop himself from knocking the older man's teeth down his throat.

"This isn't working," she said, her eyes slowly moving down his body.

"What isn't working?" He asked, confused. Did she think he wasn't working out as the new Chief? He had only been on the job for four days for Christ's sake, what did she expect?

"This…your look. T-shirts and jeans were fine when you were the renegade Agent Morgan, but Unit Chief Morgan needs a more professional…a more polished look."

"Rossi gets away with wearing jeans," he complained; he _really _didn't want to give up his comfortable clothes.

JJ rolled her eyes at his defense, "Rossi also makes his own rules up as he goes along, or haven't you noticed? He's a living legend who brings in a lot of positive press for the Bureau, so the higher ups could give a shit what he wears, as long as he keeps cranking his books out." Derek started to interrupt her, but she plowed ahead. "But you, you're taking over for Hotch, so there's an expectation. You're stepping up to lead a team that has some of the highest solve rates in the Bureau. You need to look the part, you need to dress like you know you're in charge, that you know you lead a kick ass team and your current wardrobe just isn't doing it."

Sighing in defeat, he asked, "What do you suggest I wear?"

"You need to start wearing suits." She saw him roll his eyes at her suggestion, so she explained it some more. "I don't mean you have to wear the standard issue, G-man suits that Hotch wears; you can incorporate your style into your suits."

"JJ, I own a funeral suit and a job interview suit and that's it."

"I figured as much," she told him. "Lucky for you, I have a sitter scheduled to stay with Henry tonight, so we can go out shopping!"

Derek groaned, if there was one thing he hated more than wearing a suit, it was shopping for suits, but he knew JJ had a point. "Okay, let's go shopping," he said, setting his paperwork down on his desk.

During their shopping trip, JJ helped him pick out two full suits, some extra shirts and numerous ties. Watching him fumble with one of the neckties, she asked him straight out if he knew how to tie one. He mumbled an affirmation, but it hadn't been convincing. She sighed and watched as he paid for his purchases. Once they were done, she took the bag containing his ties and they parted ways. The next morning, she came back into his office.

"Here," she said, handing him a shopping bag. "I pre-tied all of your neckties, so all you have to do is slip them over your head when you get dressed. Just be sure not to completely untie it at night and you should be fine."

"Thanks JJ," he said, touched.

"No problem Chief," she said, giving him a mock salute as she left his office.

He was pulled from his reverie by Clooney barking to be let in from the backyard. He pulled the tie from around his neck and stuffed it in his pocket as he went to the back door; he would have Emily help him with it at the church.

He never forgot the way that JJ helped him settle into his temporary role as Chief. She was the one who had procured the office for him, she was the one made sure he looked the part and she never once compared him to Hotch. She also held his hand during those first few weeks, helping him pick the cases, working as an intermediary between him and Strauss, and just being there for him when he needed someone to vent to.

He also felt guilty about her death. Even though he was no longer in charge, he tended to watch over her more carefully than he did anyone else on the team, even Reid. She was like a younger sister to him. Hell, once he had found out that Will had left her, JJ had to practically barricade him in the BAU in order to stop him from flying down to New Orleans to kick his ass. He felt like he had failed her by letting her go into a dangerous situation in the way that she had, he should have insisted that Hotch pair her up with someone.

He finally finished getting ready; ironically he was wearing one of the suits she had helped him pick out. As he grabbed his keys from the coffee table in the living room, his eyes fell upon a team photo that had been taken during a night out after one of their cases. He stared at JJ, her eyes filled with hopes and dreams and he almost broke down in tears.

"We'll miss you JJ," he whispered hoarsely, before going out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

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_**Reid**_

Spencer was having a hard time concentrating on the ministers words, he couldn't get it out of his head…JJ was up there, she was in that coffin and she was about to be put in the ground for all eternity. How could this be? How could this have happened? She was a media liaison, not a profiler. Other than Garcia, she had the safest job on the team! This wasn't supposed to happen to her…Hotch and himself, yes, but not to her!

What was he going to do without her? She was the one person, other than his mother, who totally accepted him for who he was…she never expected or even _wanted_ him to change who he was just to fit in better with everyone else. She was the one person who didn't interrupt him when he was sharing his knowledge and statistics. She was the one person he could turn to for help with mundane things and she wouldn't laugh at him, she would just help him with a smile.

She was also the one person who trusted him implicitly. Given his history with dilaudid, he knew the members of his team would always have a small amount of doubt in the backs of their heads about him, but not JJ. Good God, she trusted him enough to make him her son's godfather! That action alone meant more to him than anything else that had ever happened to him.

She was also his confidante; he had told her things he had never told anyone else. She was the one he talked to about his experience in Georgia with Henkel. He shared his fears about his mother with her and his fears about inheriting her disease. She was the one who knew about his feelings of inadequacy on the team and she was the one he talked to when he had cravings for his drug of choice. In turn, she had confided in him as well, and he liked to think that he had offered her some useful advice over the years, but he knew that she had helped him much more than he had helped her.

JJ was also the older sister he had desperately needed when he was growing up. She looked out for him in a way that none of the other team members did. Everyone else looked out for his safety, they made sure that he was okay before, during and after a takedown, and Reid was grateful for that, but JJ looked out for his overall well-being. He thought back to a few months ago…

"Spence, sit still for a minute!" JJ exclaimed as she tried to trim his hair.

"Not too short back there JJ," he whined. He knew he should have gone to a barber to get his hair trimmed, but every one he had ever gone to always wanted to cut his hair shorter than he wanted, which is why he let his friend do it. Besides, he knew she trimmed both Garcia's and Henry's hair and they both looked okay, so why not let her trim his?

"I want to know how I became the team's unofficial fashion consultant," she said as she snipped the ends of his long tresses. "First I had to help Morgan pick out clothes that are appropriate for his new job title, and now I'm cutting your hair. Not to mention that I helped Garcia dye hers the other day and I helped Rossi pick out the best outfit for his picture on his new book cover. Seriously, why do you all think I have an eye for fashion?"

"Because you _always _look good," he told her, still a little worried about the state of his hair.

She smiled, "Thanks Spence." With that, she snipped a few remaining split ends and then patted his shoulder. "We're done."

He got up and looked in the bathroom mirror, "Thanks JJ, it looks great."

She nodded, "So where are you taking her?" He had a date with a new agent in the cybercrimes division. Rumor had it that she had almost as high of an IQ as he did, and he was both looking forward to the date and anxious about it at the same time.

"I'm not sure; I don't know what kind of food she likes. I thought I would play it by ear."

"That could work," JJ said, thinking about it for a minute. It was a Wednesday night, so restaurants weren't going to be crowded, so he probably wouldn't need reservations anywhere.

"I just don't know what I'm going to talk to her about," he said, a bit nervously.

"What do you mean? She's in cybercrimes, she's just as smart as you are and she's your age. I'm sure you can find _something_ to talk about."

"Yeah, but all of the things I discuss are too nerdy. Derek told me not to be my usual self with her-" JJ interrupted him.

"Stop right there. Are you seriously taking dating advice from Morgan? A long-term relationship for him is breakfast the next morning! Trust me, just be yourself, talk about what interests you and then listen to her. Ask her questions about her interests and the conversation should pick up from there."

"Yeah, but-" JJ interrupted him again.

"No buts, if she doesn't like you for who you are, then you're better off without her. You're a great guy Spencer, and you want a woman who likes the real you." JJ made a mental note to smack Morgan upside the head the next morning, Unit Chief or not.

He smiled, "Thanks JJ…for everything."

She hugged him, "That's what friends are for."

He was brought back into the present when everyone around him began to move. It was obvious that the funeral was over, but he wanted a moment alone. He watched as the team filed out. Hotch also seemed reluctant to leave and he sat with him for a moment, but finally got up when it became obvious that Reid wanted a moment to himself. As soon as the church was empty, he went up to the coffin and placed his hand on it. He stood there silently as the tears rolled down his cheeks and he remembered all of the good times they had together. After another five minutes, he finally removed his hand from her coffin and made his way towards the church exit. As he left, he wondered what he would do without his best friend.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

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_**Dave**_

Dave wearily pushed the front door of his cabin open and flipped on the light switch. His loyal dog Mudgie ran up and greeted him, and that managed to put a small smile on his face. He held the door open and let the pooch run out into the front yard, knowing he wouldn't run off. As he shut the door behind him, he gave a weary sigh. There were reminders of her everywhere he looked; from the couch in the great room where she had sat curled up in front of a roaring fire, to the breakfast bar in the kitchen where she used to drink wine and watch him cook. The rest of the team didn't know it, but he and JJ had been dating for just over a month. It was hard holding his emotions back at the funeral that morning as he wanted to cry out and rail at God for taking away the best thing that had ever happened to him. As it was, he got a strange look from Hotch as more tears than were appropriate had escaped his eyes.

Dave couldn't believe the way the tiny woman had become a vital part of his life in such a short amount of time. Because of her past experiences with men, they had been taking their relationship slowly…hell, they hadn't even slept together before she died, and that's why they hadn't told the team they were dating. Given his track record, JJ wasn't sure how long their relationship would last, and she didn't want to divide the team over a casual fling. Dave, on the other hand, was sure their relationship would last, he was sure that JJ was _the_ woman for him and he had already pictured her as his wife. He had let himself imagine her and Henry moving into the cabin, he had pictured the kids they would have together and he had envisioned them growing old together. Looking back, he wished they had taken things faster, that he would have gotten to experience more with her before her life was tragically cut short by a psychopath with a grenade.

When he got the news that she had died, he was surprised. He knew the shot had taken out the unsub and he wondered if he had gotten a shot off as he was going down. Once he learned how she had died, his feeling of surprise turned to understanding and pride. As much as he hated that she was dead, he understood why she did what she did, and he knew there wasn't a member of the BAU, hell the entire Bureau, that wouldn't have done the same thing if they had been in her shoes.

His thoughts were disturbed by a knock at the door. Frowning, Dave went to answer it; he wasn't expecting visitors and he had planned to spend the rest of the day drowning his sorrows in a bottle of scotch. He was surprised when he opened the door and found Penelope and Spencer on the other side of it.

"Garcia, Reid, can I help you two with something?" He asked, as they stood on the porch, still wearing the clothes they wore to the funeral.

Pushing past the older profiler, Garcia stepped into the cabin. As Reid followed her, he shot an apologetic look at Rossi.

Mudgie squeezed through the door before Dave shut it and he stopped in front of Garcia and Reid and wagged his tail.

Dave shut the door and locked it before turning around to face his guests. "What can I do for the two of you?" He asked again as he absently reached down to scratch Mudgie behind the ears.

"The question is, what can _we_ do for _you_?" Garcia asked, looking at him with sad eyes.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, confused.

Instead of answering him, Garcia rushed over and threw her arms around him. "She loved you, you know," she said softly into his ear.

Dave, who had been returning the hug, released her and looked at her in shock. "You _knew_?" He couldn't believe it, JJ had been the one who swore _him_ to secrecy about their relationship and yet she had told Garcia? Not only Garcia, but Reid too by the looks of it.

Penelope nodded, "Of course I knew, JJ needed _someone _to confide in!"

Dave looked at Spencer, "You knew too?"

He nodded, "There was very little that JJ didn't tell me. She used to call me her 'male gal pal.' I never knew whether I should be insulted or flattered by that title."

"Go with flattered, honey," Garcia told him. "She considered you to be a close confidant."

"I can't believe you both knew…" Rossi trailed off in disbelief.

"That's why we wanted to check on you. How are _you_ doing, cowboy? It must have been hard for you holding back your emotions over the last couple of days. Are you okay?" Penelope asked him.

Dave felt himself choke up; he couldn't remember the last time that anyone, other than his mother, had shown so much concern for his well-being. "It hasn't been easy," he said, his voice breaking. "I loved her too, and I thought we would have all the time in the world to explore those feelings." He felt a tear escape as he spoke, and Garcia once again wrapped her arms around him. They stayed like that for a minute, until Dave felt like he had his emotions under control.

"I was planning on losing myself in a bottle or two of scotch, care to join me?" He asked his two guests.

Surprisingly Reid spoke first, "Why not? It's not like we have to work tomorrow." The team was on stand down for the next week and a half, and the Bureau had given them the rest of the week off to grieve for their fallen colleague.

Garcia also nodded her agreement and soon the scotch was flowing like water.

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon and evening talking about themselves and sharing stories about JJ. As the night wore on and the bottle of scotch emptied, the stories grew more elaborate and outrageous and they all found amusement in them. By the end of the night, they were all three sheets to the wind, and both Spencer and Penelope stayed overnight at the cabin in the spare bedrooms.

After breakfast the next morning, the two guests gathered up their things and Dave walked them to the front door.

"Thanks, both of you, for coming over. If you hadn't, I probably would have drunk myself into a stupor, crying over the loss of JJ and our future. Instead I was reminded of all of the good times we had with her." He put out his hand and surprisingly Spencer shook it.

"Any friend of JJ's is a friend of ours," he said softly, and Dave was touched that the younger man considered him to be a friend.

Penelope ignored his outstretched hand and hugged him yet again, "Keep Wednesdays from noon to two o'clock open on your calendar," she told him as she released him.

"Why?" He asked, puzzled.

"That's when JJ, Spencer and I meet for lunch. We share all of the gossip that's floating around the BAU and since JJ's gone, you're going to have to step up to the plate for her, and don't even try to tell us that you don't know any of the gossip at the Bureau since we know JJ got most of hers from you," Garcia told him with a smile.

Dave grinned back, it was true, he didn't know how it happened, but he always managed be up to speed with the intel about their co-workers. He opened the door for the two of them and as they stepped out, he said, "I hope the two of you know that you can come to me if you ever need anything. I know I'm not JJ and I'll never replace her, but if you ever need help, or just someone to talk to, I'm here for you." He knew JJ would be happy knowing he was looking after her friends like this.

"Thank you sir," Garcia said softly. Reid nodded his agreement.

Dave watched as they got into Garcia's car and drove down the driveway. Once they were out of sight, he closed the door and then leaned against it. He knew JJ was watching over him and that she had sent her friends to him, and he was grateful. "Thanks honey," he whispered into the empty room.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

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_**Henry**_

Eighteen year old Henry Jareau stood in front of his mother's grave. He didn't have any of his own memories of the woman who gave him life, since she died when he was a year old, but her memory had been kept alive by his father and godparents.

His father had moved him back to New Orleans soon after his mother's funeral, but he visited Penelope at least once a year and she made sure to talk about his mom at every opportunity. Spencer usually showed up during his visits and he too made sure to reminisce about what a wonderful woman his mother had been. Pen had scrapbooks filled with pictures of his mom and articles that mentioned her, along with the article chronicling her heroic death. Spencer usually relied on stories, and since the man had an eidetic memory, Henry usually put more stock in the accuracy of his stories rather than Penelope's, since she had a tendency to exaggerate.

His father also made sure he knew who his mother had been. While his dad had remarried over ten years ago, and his wife had formally adopted him, Will wanted Henry to know what a good and kind woman his biological mother had been. Henry had always admired that about his parents, they never felt threatened by his mother's memory. He knew most parents would let him forget about his birth mother, since he didn't have any real memories of her, but his dad had always fully answered all of his questions throughout the years.

Spencer and Penelope frequently talked about various old co-workers that his mother had worked with as well. There was Emily, who had left the FBI and joined the Peace Corps shortly after his mother had died, and there was Dave, who took a second retirement and had moved to Oregon only days after his mother's funeral. They reminisced about Hotch, who had retired and written several books about his experiences in the FBI, and Derek, who was still with the Bureau and had risen quickly through the ranks. Henry had heard Penelope tell Spencer that Derek was on the short list for Deputy Director of the FBI. Even his godparents were no longer agents. Penelope had quit a few years ago and was making a killing in the private sector, developing software for large corporations and Spencer was a professor at Georgetown. When he heard about these people, Henry usually smiled and nodded politely, but he didn't really know any of them so he wasn't too interested in hearing what they were up to.

He sighed as he set the flowers down in front of the tombstone. He didn't dread his yearly visits to her grave, but he never knew what to do once he got there. He stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi mom," he said to the gravestone. "Um, it's me, Henry." He felt like an idiot, of course she knew who he was. If she had been watching over him like his parents always told him, then she knew everything about him. Still, he had to say _something_, didn't he?

"So I just finished moving into the dorms at American University," he told her. "Mom and dad didn't like the thought of me moving so far away from them, but I've always liked Washington and I've always had a lot of fun here when I've visited Spence and Pen. Speaking of Pen, she was _beyond_ thrilled when I chose computer science as my major; I guess all of the time I spent with her when I was a baby combined with my annual visits put computer hacking in my blood." Henry paused and smiled when he thought of all of the trouble he'd gotten into over the years for hacking into his school's computer system. Everyone thought it was to change his grades, but he never needed to since he usually got A's and B's. No, he hacked in so he could pull pranks, like posting his principal's 'before' picture…as in before she got her nose job. That stunt had gotten him both suspended and grounded, but it had been totally worth it.

"Pen already told me she'll help me with any projects and Spence said he would help me with the math classes I need, since math is not one of my strong subjects." He paused again, still not knowing exactly what to say. "Well, I guess that's about it…since I'll be living here, I'll try to come visit more often." He was pissed that there were weeds sprouting up around her tombstone, and he quickly yanked them away. "Um, I should be going, dad's waiting to take me to dinner before he and mom fly back home."

Walking away from his mother's grave, Henry quickly met up with his father. "Hey, wait for me by the car, okay? I want a minute alone." Henry nodded and walked back towards the car and then watched as his dad approached his mom's grave.

"Well Jayje, our boy graduated from high school and is about to start college," he said to the ground. "You'd be real proud of him, he's smarter than anyone I know and he's kind to everyone. Sure, he can be a troublemaker, but he's not mean about it." He stopped and cleared his throat. "I see you in him every day. He has your smile and your sense of humor and most importantly, he has your sense of compassion. Sure, his mother and I helped develop all of that, but we both know he was born with it. Like I said, you'd be real proud JJ."

Will spent another minute in silence, just staring at the tombstone. Finally, he turned and walked back towards the car and met up with his son. "Ready to go?" He asked.

Henry nodded, "I'm ready," he said, looking back at his mother's grave. He didn't feel bad leaving since he knew it wouldn't be another year before he visited her again. He knew he was starting a new chapter in his life, and he was glad he was doing it in the city where he and his mother had lived.

**The End**


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